Egg: This large egg with its misty yolk and huge brown-amber oil
globule (A), is matched in size by only one other egg, Lichia amia
(EIA1), but the latter has a segmented yolk. As the embryo develops, the black
pigment patches, and oil globule position further distinguish between the two
(B, C & D). Incubation period is uncertain, but exceeds 4 days.

Larva: The early larva hatches with lightly pigmented eyes, a strip of black pigment dorsally, extending into the dorsal finfold, and black
pigment both midtail and in the caudal finfold (E). By day 5, the pigment has clustered
into1 midtail patch (G). The 3-day larva (F) is probably a second species. E: NH, F:
3 days, G: 5 days (25°C).

The size of
this egg, combined with the body pattern of the elongate but short-gut
larva, and the myomere count, are consistent with it being a caristiid. Marcus
(2006) illustrates the egg and early larva of Caristius maderensis.
There are two species of Caristius known from off Durban (Heemstra 1986f),
which are rare in collections. Thirteen hatched larvae have been barcoded (BOLD), 7 indicating 1 species, while another 6, recognised as different due to the double dark patches of F above, have matched the barcode of an adult C. groenlandicus, from the South African west coast. The two species are easily separated at the larval stage; G above is Caristiussp., while F & H areC. groenlandicus. The former is by far the more common off Park Rynie.

Linked samples

Offshore

Inshore

Eggs

105

21

Hits

52

16

In the Park
Rynie area, both species are clearly winter spawners (blue graph). The egg was not seen
in the DHM samples, but at Park Rynie, it has maintained a fairly steady
presence (white graph). Most of these eggs in the Park Rynie linked samples, were
offshore (83%), but numbers are too low to be reliable. I
would have expected an even higher offshore percentage for such oceanic
species. However, considering the long development time, the eggs have days of drifting before they hatch. See Section 7.3 and Table 1 of the Introductory Notes, for more
information on the linked samples.